The Unexpected Start

Why HypnoBirthing?

When it comes to birth, what I visualized was a woman screaming on top of her lung. Everyone I talked to about birth, they always tell me that I will never ever be able to imagine how painful it is. And making it worst there’s even an article which measures the levels of pain, and childbirth was on the top of the list being the most painful!

He is our third child. We decided to use HypnoBirthing, water birth at home. As we passed the expected due date (EDD), we began a long countdown till the baby was ready, at week-43. It was Easter Day and we had a fun-packed and exhausting outing with our two girls. Just about to reach home, the heavy rain invited our children to play with raincoat and you can imagine how soundly both of them slept, a little bit earlier than usual too. Now left Boon Hoong and me. This set the perfect mood for welcoming our new addition.

Easter Action

Baby ElizabethThroughout my pregnancy, I had 3 different EDD: 12/4, 16/4 and lastly at 34wks it was 6/4. Whenever I’m asked about my due date, I would nonchalantly answer mid April because I knew all these dates were only an estimation. Secretly I looked forward to an Easter baby (8/4) or perhaps the perfect birthday present (4/4) all for myself.

It Made Perfect Sense

My perfect familyWe decided to DIY our son's birth because I wanted to have more control of our birth experience. My daughter was born in the hospital after an induction due to the water bag breaking. I later found out I was KIVed for a cesarean and was lucky that I dilated in time. I also wanted to feel more empowered by my birth experience as opposed to having to go through a standard episiotomy and I generally do not like hospitals.

The Awaited Sign

Baby AmmarIt was 4am on Friday and I was already one day past my EDD. As I woke up for my toilet runs, I noticed some spotting. Still being skeptical, I was not sure whether this was the awaited birth sign or not.

陈家四千金我是四个孩子的妈妈，四个都是自然产。

话说当年生第一个宝宝时，由于阵痛难耐，就打了两支pethedine和吸entonox gas 原想让自己有休息的机会，开了10cm，护士就教我如何把宝宝推出来，就像上大号一样。由于药物的关系，我已经无力把宝宝生出来，结果医生就用仪器把宝宝吸出来。这一次只知道痛的感觉而不知道是如何把宝宝推出来。

写给亲爱的宝贝女儿：

3月8日是医生给的预产期，肚子仍然没有动静，慰问电话却是响个不停，大家都很紧张妳的进展。唯独Daddy和Mummy“稳坐如山”因为我们知道这时候需要的是耐心与信心，相信宝宝妳准备好后就会自己决定吉日良辰的。

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The Decision

During my 37th week pregnancy I suddenly wanted to find out more about natural birth. Actually from the start of my pregnancy I wanted an all natural birth for my baby. I’ve heard of water birth in hospital but it is not common and no one that I know has done it. So I stopped thinking further about it. It never crossed my mind that giving birth could be so natural until I’ve done it on my own through the help of HypnoBirthing. HypnoBirthing came about during my research on natural birth, and I began to seek for more information.

A Different Plan